The second and final match-up between Eintracht Braunschweig and VfL Wolfsburg is scheduled for Monday, May 29th and it will be played at the Eintracht-Stadion. The Wolves managed to emerge victorious in the first showdown that took place at the Volkswagen Arena on Thursday, 1:0, and everything is still open. They do have a slight advantage, especially because they haven’t conceded at home and if they score one goal in this next game, Eintracht will have to score three if they want to avoid staying in Zweita next year. Game analysis is down below so let’s take a closer look.
EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG vs. VfL WOLFSBURG
3-Way: 1: Eintracht Braunschweig +252; X: +245 Draw; VfL Wolfsburg +136
Spread +0.5: Eintracht Braunschweig -141; VfL Wolfsburg +140
Total +2.5: Over +119; Under -123
EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG
If the team doesn’t end this match-up as the winners, they will definitely have a lot to regret having in mind the first leg. Team coped pretty well in front of a packed Volkswagen Arena and even created the best chance first in front of the opponent goal when Domi Kumbela managed to send the ball with a header just outside of the left post in a pretty easy situation.
Wolfsburg then created couple of chances but the game changer came in the 39th minute of the first half. High ball was centered at the top of the visitors’ box and Mario Gomez managed to pass the ball with what looked like his body, but on the replay, it was clear that he illegally used his hand. The Refs didn’t penalize this but they did penalize the Braunshweig’s defender hand-play in the box after Malli tried to shot on the goal as Gomez set it up on the above described way. Gomez cashed in the penalty kick and gave the 1:0 advantage to the home team before the break. Second period went much more carefully as Eintracht tried to avoid conceding another one, and Wolves trying not to concede at home.
On the stat sheet, team looks very solid. They are 4-2-2 in the last eight match-ups and 1-1-2 in the last four road games. Overall league record this season was 19-9-7 (13-3-1- at home and 6-6-6 away). Goal difference was 50-37 (35-17 on home soil and 15-20 on the road). 41% of Eintracht’s overall games had over 2.5 goals (65% at home) and 79% of their overall matches had under 3.5 goals in total (71% at home) while 18% of home games had over 2.5 goals at the half-time.
The Eintracht Braunschweig FC managed to score at least one goal in both halves in 35% of their home matches while they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in 24% of their home games. Both teams scored in 76% of games in front of their own crowd while they managed to keep a clean sheet in 32% of their overall games. Most common score at home soil was 2:1 win (occurred five times), while most common score at the half-time was 1:0 lead (occurred five times).
Domi Kumbela and Christoffer Nyman topped the team in scoring this season with 13 and 11 goals (7th and 9th in the league) while Onel Hernandez and Ken Reichel collected team-high four assists each. Top passers were attacking midfielder Salim Khelifi with 79.1% of accurate passes and Patrick Schonfeld with 75.2% of accurate passes. Bosnian goalkeeper Jasmin Fejzic (34 appearances) collected 85 saves while he also had 13 games with clean sheets.
Marcel Correia (Ankle) and Phil Ofosu-Ayeh (Knee) are both probable for Monday’s matchup while Domi Kumbela’s (Thigh) status is unknown.
VfL WOLFSBURG
The VfL Wolfsburg’s fans know that the team can still save the season with a positive result on Monday, and even though many of them are surely disappointed in the team’s overall performances this year, they will provide much needed support in this upcoming road clash.
Having in mind the result of the first leg, we can say that the Wolves have been a little lucky about the way they scored that only goal but in fact they had the initiative on the field during the entire match and the win is probably deserved. Besides the scorer Mario Gomez, Turkish national that came in the team from FSV Mainz 05 during the month of January, Yunus Malli presented the biggest threat to goalkeeper Fejzic as he constantly kept him occupied with long and short range shots.
The Wolves have accomplished their goal of not conceding at home and if they manage to score as visitors on Monday, they will probably be only half a step away from staying in the top German soccer competition next year.
The VfL Wolfsburg finished the regular season with a 2-1-5 record in the last eight games and 1-1-2 record in the last four home matches. Their overall record is 11-7-17 (6-3-9 at home; 5-4-8 on the road). They averaged 1.00 goal scored and 1.53 goals conceded per match overall (0.88-1.47 at home, 1.12-1.59 away). 50% of their total matches had over 2.5 goals (53% at home) and 21% of their total matches had over 3.5 goals in total (18% at home). 18% of their road games had over 4.5 goals in total and no away match had over 2.5 goals at the half-time.
In three road match-ups, the VfL Wolfsburg managed to score at least one goal in both halves while they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in every third visiting game. Most common results on the road were 1:2 loss, 1:0 loss, 2:0 win and 1:1 draw (all occurred twice) while most common score at the halftime was 0:0 (occurred five times).
German striker Mario Gomez led the team in scoring this season with 17 goals while the Yunus Malli recorded seven. Malli topped the team in assisting with eight assists while passing segment belonged to midfielder Luiz Gustavo and defender Robin Knoche with 83.9% and 82.6% of accurate passes. Goalkeepers Diego Benaglio (14 appearances) and Koen Casteels (20 appearances) collected 111 saves and had 12 games with clean sheets combined, including the relegation playoffs.
Jeffrey Bruma (Knee) and Paul-Georges N’Tep (muscle) are out for the season while Riechedly Bazoer’s (Knee), Jakub Blaszcykowski’s (Groin), Sebastian Jung’s (Thigh) and Paul Seguin’s (unknown) statuses are unknown. Ricardo Rodriguez (Ankle) and Ismail Azzaoui (Cruciate ligament) are day to day.
Eintracht Braunschweig vs. VfL Wolfsburg – Match Prediction
I expect this to be a much more open game than the one on Thursday. Home team has nothing to lose and they must start very offensively and if we take a look at this season’s Eintracht’s home performances, we can see that they are capable of doing that.
Now, they’ll also have to keep their own sheet clean because if they concede one goal, they will have to score three to get the aggregate advantage. I’m sure that they have the juice to win but I’m not sure that they can keep the VfL Wolfsburg goalless for 90 minutes. My safe bet here would be both teams score, while the additional pick would be over 2.5 goals in total.
My pick: Both teams score YES (-105)
Additional Pick: Over 2.5 goals in total (+119)
